Shelby Lynne Moorer is the sister of the country singer Allison Moorer. She goes by the name Shelby Lynne. She started out as pretty much a country singer, but over the years has moved more towards soul and r&b without completely forgoing her connections to country music.
Today as I write this, Jan 29, 2008, Shelby is releasing her newest album. It's entitled Just A Little Lovin', subtitled "Songs Inspired by Dusty Springfield". Nine of the songs on this album are songs Dusty has made famous on her albums, one is an original. Dusty's music has always been very lush, full of strings and accompaniment. For her album Shelby decided that it wouldn't do to try and compete with these arrangements, she has stripped the sound down to just a spare piano and guitars and her wonderful, thrilling voice.
Shelby's early life often over shadows her music. As children, Shelby and her sister Allison, lived in a house with an alcoholic father. One day the father came home and shot his wife and than himself. The two sisters moved in with a sister until Shelby reached the age of 18 and married for a brief time.
Shelby moved to Nashville and secured a recording contract. Her first album Sunrise contained a duet with George Jones. The next year she released Tough All Over and the year after Soft Talk. Even with winning the ACM's Top New Female Vocalist in 1990 none of her albums made much a impression in the music industry.
Being fairly strongly opinioned about the course her music should take and not liking the fact that she had little control with a big label she left Epic and moved to the smaller label Morgan Creek and released Temptation there before it folded and she released Restless from Magnatone.
For the next three years she released nothing. Than in 1999 she released I Am Shelby Lynne. Released in England first the album became a big hit and didn't come out in the USA until the next year. This was a new sound and look for Shelby and the album became a critical and commerical hit. This is one of the best albums of the decade.
She's released a few more albums since than, but none have reached the heights of that album either commerically or critically. In the Johnny Cash bio movie she played Johnny Cash's Mother.
Shelby is an artist that in not content to rest on past accomplishments and continues to look for ways to advance her talents.
The song is "Your Lies" taken from her I Am Shelby Lynne album.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
More From 2007
1. Arcade Fire "Neon Bible"
This was one of those albums that probably appeared on almost every critic's list. It's a good album. It's one of those albums I find myself liking the more I listen to it. I think this is one of those albums that get such a build up that it's almost impossible to be disappointed in it at first listen. But listen to it without thinking of how "great" it's supposed to be.
2. Bettye LaVette "Scene of the Crime"
This is one of my favorites from the last year. Produced by Patterson Hood of the Drive By Truckers and using most of his band as the backing band, along with studio greats like Spooner Oldham, this is an album that will be regarded as a classic. This woman is one of the greatest singers out there. I thought her previous album was good, but she just keeps getting better.
3. Jason Isbell "Sirens of the Ditch"
Speaking of the Drive by Truckers. Jason was a former member of the group and contibuted some of its best material in my opinion. Saying that I was somewhat disappointed with this album. It didn't quite measure up to his best Trucker songs, but I think it needs a few more listens to get a good sample of it.
4. Kings of Leon "Because of the Times"
A great rocker from this Southern group. Not much more to be said about this one.
5. Lucinda Williams "West"
One of the best out there today. This album continues her string of great albums. Some of the material on here deals with her Mother's death and funeral, hitting close to home for me this year with the death of my Dad.
This was one of those albums that probably appeared on almost every critic's list. It's a good album. It's one of those albums I find myself liking the more I listen to it. I think this is one of those albums that get such a build up that it's almost impossible to be disappointed in it at first listen. But listen to it without thinking of how "great" it's supposed to be.
2. Bettye LaVette "Scene of the Crime"
This is one of my favorites from the last year. Produced by Patterson Hood of the Drive By Truckers and using most of his band as the backing band, along with studio greats like Spooner Oldham, this is an album that will be regarded as a classic. This woman is one of the greatest singers out there. I thought her previous album was good, but she just keeps getting better.
3. Jason Isbell "Sirens of the Ditch"
Speaking of the Drive by Truckers. Jason was a former member of the group and contibuted some of its best material in my opinion. Saying that I was somewhat disappointed with this album. It didn't quite measure up to his best Trucker songs, but I think it needs a few more listens to get a good sample of it.
4. Kings of Leon "Because of the Times"
A great rocker from this Southern group. Not much more to be said about this one.
5. Lucinda Williams "West"
One of the best out there today. This album continues her string of great albums. Some of the material on here deals with her Mother's death and funeral, hitting close to home for me this year with the death of my Dad.
Coming Soon
Drive By Truckers: Brighter Than Creation's DarkThis album should actually by out now. It's release date was Jan 22, but when I went to the store today I couldn't find it. Which isn't unusual, sometimes the Big Box stores don't get the less than superstar releases right away. This is a 17 track disc, their first one since Jason Isbell left the band. Jason has written some of the best songs on recent Trucker albums, so his departure hurts, but there is enough talent in the band to make up for his loss I think. Patterson Hood, the leader of the Truckers, helped produce Bettye Lavette's newest album with most of the Truckers acting as her backing band. In fact, Jason's ex-wife, who is still with the band, has stepped up and written a few tunes and actually sings lead on them. The Truckers are a great band and I am looking forward to this one.
Shelby Lynne: Just A Little Lovin'
This one has a Jan 29 street date, which is next Tuesday. Shelby re-does songs by Dusty Sprinfield. Evidently she's been working on this one for awhile, go to her My Space page and read some of the history behind it. Instead of just copying the songs from Dusty Shelby has taken the songs and stripped them to their basics. Shelby is a powerful singer and this is one I am eagerly awaiting for.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Carrie Rodriguez
This week’s voice to hear hails from the state of Texas. Carrie Rodriguez was born in Austin and started playing the violin at the age of five. By the age of ten she had already played Carnegie Hall in New York City. At this point she was playing classical music, a far cry from what she is currently playing. In her teens she started playing with her father, singer-songwriter David Rodriguez, in clubs around Austin.
In 1996 Carrie went to college to study classical music, but soon discovered that she wanted to stretch her playing abilities to other styles of music. She decided to drop the violin and pick up the fiddle. She quite the college she was going to and enrolled in Berklee College of Music in Boston and studied bluegrass, jazz, swing and everything else she could.
During a South by Southwest show with another band Carrie was seen by Chip Taylor, writer of “Wild Thing” and “Angel of the Morning.” He was knocked out by her fiddle playing and invited her to tour with him in Europe. It was during their touring in Europe that Chip convinced Carrie to sing. Up to this time Carrie had considered herself a fiddle player and not a singer.
Before long the two found themselves in the studio recording a duet album. Their album Let’s Leave This Town was met with great critical acclaim. Their second album The Trouble With Humans went to number one on the Americana charts. After their third album Red Dog Tracks Carrie decided it was time to do a solo album.
Last year she recorded and released her first solo album Seven Angels On A Bicycle. The new album ranges wide in style, from Americana to Jazz to Folk. Her old partner Chip Taylor doesn’t abandon her for her solo outing. He helped co write many of the tunes and produced the album with her. Carrie’s voice is tender and seductive and flirty, sometimes all in the same song.
Carrie Rodriquez is a voice that is going to go far, she is still young, in her twenties and has the talent to carry her far.
In 1996 Carrie went to college to study classical music, but soon discovered that she wanted to stretch her playing abilities to other styles of music. She decided to drop the violin and pick up the fiddle. She quite the college she was going to and enrolled in Berklee College of Music in Boston and studied bluegrass, jazz, swing and everything else she could.
During a South by Southwest show with another band Carrie was seen by Chip Taylor, writer of “Wild Thing” and “Angel of the Morning.” He was knocked out by her fiddle playing and invited her to tour with him in Europe. It was during their touring in Europe that Chip convinced Carrie to sing. Up to this time Carrie had considered herself a fiddle player and not a singer.
Before long the two found themselves in the studio recording a duet album. Their album Let’s Leave This Town was met with great critical acclaim. Their second album The Trouble With Humans went to number one on the Americana charts. After their third album Red Dog Tracks Carrie decided it was time to do a solo album.
Last year she recorded and released her first solo album Seven Angels On A Bicycle. The new album ranges wide in style, from Americana to Jazz to Folk. Her old partner Chip Taylor doesn’t abandon her for her solo outing. He helped co write many of the tunes and produced the album with her. Carrie’s voice is tender and seductive and flirty, sometimes all in the same song.
Carrie Rodriquez is a voice that is going to go far, she is still young, in her twenties and has the talent to carry her far.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Housekeeping: rssHugger
What is rssHugger? I'll let the site explain:rssHugger is a new website developed to help bloggers promote their blogs,
and to help visitors discover new blogs that write about subjects that the
readers are interested in. Through the power of the internet and viral
marketing, rssHugger looks to bring blog writers and blog readers closer
together. If you own a blog, you can get your own page on rssHugger for 10 years
for giving an honest review of the site on your blog. If you want to join
rssHugger but do not want to review our site, you can pay a one time review fee
of $20. rssHugger will be the first ever quality, spam free, and viral rss
directory strictly for bloggers.
In trying to get the word out for Voices to hear I'm added this site to rssHugger and hope it will help bring new readers here.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Amanda Shaw
She’s Not A Bubble Gum Pop Princess
She’s just 17. She’s cute. She sings. She’s from Louisiana. You probably think you know who I’m talking about, but you’re wrong. It’s Amanda Shaw. This young girl is a far cry from the processed music of Brittney. Amanda plays cajun music with a fiddle. She covers everything from a traditional cajun song to a cover of Charlie Daniels’ “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” to the Clash’s “Should I Stay or Should I Go?”.
She’s been playing for years and she’s only 17 now. This last year marked her third appearance at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. She’s a popular favorite. Her excitement on this live album is infectious, you can tell she is having the best time of her life up there on the stage singing and talking to the audience. She’s released two of her live shows from the Jazz Fest. On her studio album she sings songs in French and then turns around and sings the punk classic by the Clash.
She’s recently been signed to Rounder Records and has just released a new studio album last week. Rounder has paired her with some veteran singer/songwriters from Louisiana like Shannon McNally and Anders Osborne to work on material for this album. Before this she had released two cds on small independent labels. Her previous album was entitled “I’m Not A Bubble Gum Pop Princess” and covers songs from traditional Cajun music as well as songs from the Ramones and the Clash.
Amanda picked up the violin at the age of three and started to play. At the age of seven she’s the youngest person to solo with the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra. Amanda’s early training on the violin was in a classical mode, but she soon discovered Cajun music and found her true calling. She’s appeared on the Rosie O’Donnell show and starred in two Disney movies.
The mention of Disney shows how her path diverged from another Louisiana singer. Amanda decided that movies was not the path she wanted to go in and went back to her music. Amanda wants to focus on her music and not the celebrity that goes along with it.
She was featured in the 2006 IMAX movie “Hurricane on the Bayou” alongside other local artists. If you ever have a chance to see her live don’t miss it. She puts on one of the most fun shows you’ll see.
She’s just 17. She’s cute. She sings. She’s from Louisiana. You probably think you know who I’m talking about, but you’re wrong. It’s Amanda Shaw. This young girl is a far cry from the processed music of Brittney. Amanda plays cajun music with a fiddle. She covers everything from a traditional cajun song to a cover of Charlie Daniels’ “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” to the Clash’s “Should I Stay or Should I Go?”.
She’s been playing for years and she’s only 17 now. This last year marked her third appearance at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. She’s a popular favorite. Her excitement on this live album is infectious, you can tell she is having the best time of her life up there on the stage singing and talking to the audience. She’s released two of her live shows from the Jazz Fest. On her studio album she sings songs in French and then turns around and sings the punk classic by the Clash.
She’s recently been signed to Rounder Records and has just released a new studio album last week. Rounder has paired her with some veteran singer/songwriters from Louisiana like Shannon McNally and Anders Osborne to work on material for this album. Before this she had released two cds on small independent labels. Her previous album was entitled “I’m Not A Bubble Gum Pop Princess” and covers songs from traditional Cajun music as well as songs from the Ramones and the Clash.
Amanda picked up the violin at the age of three and started to play. At the age of seven she’s the youngest person to solo with the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra. Amanda’s early training on the violin was in a classical mode, but she soon discovered Cajun music and found her true calling. She’s appeared on the Rosie O’Donnell show and starred in two Disney movies.
The mention of Disney shows how her path diverged from another Louisiana singer. Amanda decided that movies was not the path she wanted to go in and went back to her music. Amanda wants to focus on her music and not the celebrity that goes along with it.
She was featured in the 2006 IMAX movie “Hurricane on the Bayou” alongside other local artists. If you ever have a chance to see her live don’t miss it. She puts on one of the most fun shows you’ll see.
Monday, January 14, 2008
The Best of 2007
I'm not going to make a top ten list, because there's no way I could make a list like that. My top picks change day to day, sometimes within the hour. One day I would swear to you a certain album is the best album of the year, catch me the next day and I'll be telling you it's a different album. So what I'm going to do here is just list what I think some of the best albums of the year were. This list will continue throughout the month, as I remember other ablums that were put out this year. If you have any suggestions feel free to comment.
1. Lori McKenna "Unglamarous"
If I was going to make a top ten, this would be somewhere in that top ten. Lori has been a favorite of mine for years, her music has been coming out on small labels until this year. Faith Hill discovered her and recorded three of her songs for her last album and that led Lori to a big label contract with Tim McGraw producing the album. They did a pretty good job of not over producing the music and trying to make her fit into what's hip. It's not my favorite album by Lori, but it's still very good and better than a lot of stuff out there.
2. Jesse Malin "Glitter in the Gutter"
This is Jesse's third solo album. He was the lead singer of the punk group D-Generation. Anyone following him from that group looking for the same will be surprised. Here he's making pop more in the vain of Ryan Adams than the loud angry punk from his former group. Ryan had a hand in this album, as in the previous three. One song "Broken Radio" is a duet with Bruce Springsteen. Jesse writes some really good story songs and his album actually is filled with a lot of hope.
5. Amanda Shaw "Pretty Runs Out"
Amanda is another local favorite and this is her big label debut. She's a 17 year old fiddle playing sensation. She's released two previous albums on small local labels until Rounder Records decided to grab her up. This is a good album, but not the Amanda Shaw album I was hoping for. It starts off good, with the title song, as close to theme song for Brittney as could be written. Rounder wisely teamed Amanda up with some veteran local artists in helping her craft some songs, Shannon McNally and Anders Osborne each have a hand in writing some of the material on this album. But they also try to make Amanda into a more contemporary vocalist, singing material written by popsmith Dianne Warren. In concert she does covers by such artists as the Clash and Charlie Daniels, it would have been nice to see that ability to stretch more on this album.
6. Elizabeth Cook "Balls"
The title for this album is short for the song "Sometimes It Takes Balls To Be A Woman". This is straight ahead old fashioned country music produced by Rodney Crowell.
1. Lori McKenna "Unglamarous"
If I was going to make a top ten, this would be somewhere in that top ten. Lori has been a favorite of mine for years, her music has been coming out on small labels until this year. Faith Hill discovered her and recorded three of her songs for her last album and that led Lori to a big label contract with Tim McGraw producing the album. They did a pretty good job of not over producing the music and trying to make her fit into what's hip. It's not my favorite album by Lori, but it's still very good and better than a lot of stuff out there.
2. Jesse Malin "Glitter in the Gutter"
This is Jesse's third solo album. He was the lead singer of the punk group D-Generation. Anyone following him from that group looking for the same will be surprised. Here he's making pop more in the vain of Ryan Adams than the loud angry punk from his former group. Ryan had a hand in this album, as in the previous three. One song "Broken Radio" is a duet with Bruce Springsteen. Jesse writes some really good story songs and his album actually is filled with a lot of hope.
3. Maria McKee "Late December"
Maria started off in the americana group Lone Justice when she was barely out of her teens. The group was destined for super stardom but never seemed to make it. Since the break up of the band she has recorded several excellent solo albums. One of her early songs ended up on the Dixie Chicks first album, giving her the financial freedom to record how she wants. She is not content to merely stick to one genre. One ablum will be her roots rock, the next could be labeled alternative. This album is almost threatrical, close to opera in some instances. Maria has a voice that can pull just about any style of music off. I enjoyed this album but I have to admit I'm more of a fan of her roots rock style.
4. Susan Cowsill Band "Live at Carrollton Station: Covered In Vinyl Series Vol. 1"
Susan is a favorite of mine. She's been around years, from the family band, The Cowsills, to the New Orlean's based Contintental Drifters, to finally her own solo career. She's still based out of New Orleans and at the local club Carrollton Station she does a monthly show where her band covers an album from someone else. They do the entire album at the show. This is cuts from different shows where she covered Joni Mitchell, Kinks, Jimi Hendrix, Cat Stevens, Fleetwood Mac and Led Zepplin. Hopefully this is just the first in what will be a series of releases. I'd like to see a release of one entire show, where she redoes the entire album.
5. Amanda Shaw "Pretty Runs Out"
Amanda is another local favorite and this is her big label debut. She's a 17 year old fiddle playing sensation. She's released two previous albums on small local labels until Rounder Records decided to grab her up. This is a good album, but not the Amanda Shaw album I was hoping for. It starts off good, with the title song, as close to theme song for Brittney as could be written. Rounder wisely teamed Amanda up with some veteran local artists in helping her craft some songs, Shannon McNally and Anders Osborne each have a hand in writing some of the material on this album. But they also try to make Amanda into a more contemporary vocalist, singing material written by popsmith Dianne Warren. In concert she does covers by such artists as the Clash and Charlie Daniels, it would have been nice to see that ability to stretch more on this album.
6. Elizabeth Cook "Balls"
The title for this album is short for the song "Sometimes It Takes Balls To Be A Woman". This is straight ahead old fashioned country music produced by Rodney Crowell.
Monday, January 7, 2008
Kelly Willis
I consider myself being pretty up-to-date on what new albums are coming out and when. I know when someone has something new coming out and when it’s coming out. So imagine my surprise when I went to the store a few weeks ago and saw a new album sitting on the rack by Kelly Willis. Somehow news of her upcoming album had slipped through my radar. I like being able to keep up-to-date on upcoming releases but it’s nice when I’m surprised by an album’s release. (The whole knowing so much versus being surprised is worthy of a whole column itself.)
So this long winded explanation brings me to this week’s voice to hear. Her name is Kelly Willis and she’s one of my favorite singers. (I know I probably say that about almost everyone that I present here, but it’s really true, I have a lot of favorite singers.) Kelly has a voice that expresses a longing in every word she sings.
Kelly was born in Oklahoma to a military family. She moved around the country quite a big as a child as her Father was transferred from base to base. In her teens she joined the band of her boyfriend and before long the band changed its name to Kelly Willis and the Fireballs. After graduating the band decided to move to Austin Texas and not long after the move the band broke up. In Austin Kelly attracted the notice of several well known singers such as Lyle Lovett and Nanci Griffith who ended up introducing the fledging singer to Tony Brown of MCA Records.
She was soon signed to MCA Records and her first album, Well Traveled Love, was released in 1990. MCA did a big publicity push for Kelly and the album, but it still did not do very well. The next year saw the break-up of Kelly’s marriage and the release of a new album Bang Bang. In 1993 a self titled album was released. Despite the push of MCA and good critical word none of the albums did very well.
Shortly afterwards Kelly was released from her contract with MCA. In 1996 she recorded an EP for A&M records called Fading Fast. That was the extent of her career with A&M. After recording for two major labels Kelly decided to do her next album on her own and with no outside influences. By this time Kelly had met and married fellow country artist Bruce Robinson.
Inbetween labels Kelly did a few recordings with the group Son Volt and it helped steer her music into a new direction.
Kelly’s first albums put her fairly squarely in the country music corner. Her new release did not pull her completely out of that genre, but moved her into some Americana and rock. After recording her new album she sold it to Ryko Disc and What I Deserve was released to huge critical praise in 1999. What’s better is that the album sold also. This is an amazing record, one I can listen to over and over. In 2002 she released Easy, a more laid back and quieter album. In 2003 she released a Christmas album with her husband.
During the five years between the release of What I Deserve and her newest Kelly had four children with her husband. In June of this year she release her newest album Translated From Love. The album was produced by indie rocker Chuck Prophet. This album moves her sound more back to her 1999 sound and is a wonderful record and some great music. Her voice is unique in the world of singers and her music on this album straddles that boundry between country, folk and rock. Hopefully we won’t have to wait five years for her next one.
So this long winded explanation brings me to this week’s voice to hear. Her name is Kelly Willis and she’s one of my favorite singers. (I know I probably say that about almost everyone that I present here, but it’s really true, I have a lot of favorite singers.) Kelly has a voice that expresses a longing in every word she sings.
Kelly was born in Oklahoma to a military family. She moved around the country quite a big as a child as her Father was transferred from base to base. In her teens she joined the band of her boyfriend and before long the band changed its name to Kelly Willis and the Fireballs. After graduating the band decided to move to Austin Texas and not long after the move the band broke up. In Austin Kelly attracted the notice of several well known singers such as Lyle Lovett and Nanci Griffith who ended up introducing the fledging singer to Tony Brown of MCA Records.
She was soon signed to MCA Records and her first album, Well Traveled Love, was released in 1990. MCA did a big publicity push for Kelly and the album, but it still did not do very well. The next year saw the break-up of Kelly’s marriage and the release of a new album Bang Bang. In 1993 a self titled album was released. Despite the push of MCA and good critical word none of the albums did very well.
Shortly afterwards Kelly was released from her contract with MCA. In 1996 she recorded an EP for A&M records called Fading Fast. That was the extent of her career with A&M. After recording for two major labels Kelly decided to do her next album on her own and with no outside influences. By this time Kelly had met and married fellow country artist Bruce Robinson.
Inbetween labels Kelly did a few recordings with the group Son Volt and it helped steer her music into a new direction.
Kelly’s first albums put her fairly squarely in the country music corner. Her new release did not pull her completely out of that genre, but moved her into some Americana and rock. After recording her new album she sold it to Ryko Disc and What I Deserve was released to huge critical praise in 1999. What’s better is that the album sold also. This is an amazing record, one I can listen to over and over. In 2002 she released Easy, a more laid back and quieter album. In 2003 she released a Christmas album with her husband.
During the five years between the release of What I Deserve and her newest Kelly had four children with her husband. In June of this year she release her newest album Translated From Love. The album was produced by indie rocker Chuck Prophet. This album moves her sound more back to her 1999 sound and is a wonderful record and some great music. Her voice is unique in the world of singers and her music on this album straddles that boundry between country, folk and rock. Hopefully we won’t have to wait five years for her next one.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Housekeeping
We know that this site hasn't been keeping up with it's announced goal of a weekly Spotlight and for that everyone here at Voices to Hear apologizes. (It's actually pretty easy to get us all on the same page, even though we're using the "royal" we, it's just me putting this site together.) I could make a long list of what's been going wrong and a million and one other excuses, but that still doesn't get the Spotlight out on a weekly basis, so I'll skip the excuses and offer my sincere apology and promise to do better.
It's a new year and we promise to try and do better this year. Our goal is to present a Spotlight every week, hopefully on Monday or as close to that day as we can make it. We have a long list of artists that we hope to feature in forthcoming Spotlights.
We also have lots more new features for the site. Hopefully our interview "Simply Six" will expand and feature more artists. Lily Holbrook actually sent hers back, but there was a mess up with the computers and it didn't come through, so she's re-doing it. We're expanding it out, sending it to more artists in the hope that we'll get more back.
Soon we'll be introducing a new feature called "Buried Treasures". This feature will showcase music from the past that we feel should not go unnoticed and warrants some attention. As always our aim with this feature will be to featured some music that is slightly off the radar from the majority of the music buying public. Hopefully we'll introduce you to some great older music that you might not have heard.
Also this year looks to be full of concerts. The New Orleans Jazz Fest will be here before long and lots of great music inbetween than. Our concert reviews will be featured more frequently.
And last but not least we hope to start featuring album reviews. There's a lot of great albums out there that we want to bring a little attention to. Sometimes we try to make our Spotlights come out when that featured artist has a new album coming out, but we don't always make it, so some great albums are slipping through the cracks.
While we said that the above was the last we also are hoping to run a round up of some of the best music from the last year that shouldn't go unnoticed or unheard. So we have an ambitious slate ahead of us for the coming year.
We'd like to hear from anyone that actually reads this site. Please leave some comments. Tell us what you think works and what doesn't. Give us your feedback on certain artists, let us know what you think about them. At the end of each Spotlight we link to mp3's for a handful of songs from said artist, give them a try, these are some great songs.
We also have a cafepress shop where you can buy some neat things with the VtH logo on it. We plan to expand this also and offer more goodies for you to spend your hard earned money on.
And finally, yes we really mean it this time, pass this site on to a friend. If you like it tell someone else. The purpose of this site is to push great music from artists that don't get the recognition they deserve, in other words - The Best Music You've Never Heard - so let as many people know about this site as you can so more people can hear them.
It's a new year and we promise to try and do better this year. Our goal is to present a Spotlight every week, hopefully on Monday or as close to that day as we can make it. We have a long list of artists that we hope to feature in forthcoming Spotlights.
We also have lots more new features for the site. Hopefully our interview "Simply Six" will expand and feature more artists. Lily Holbrook actually sent hers back, but there was a mess up with the computers and it didn't come through, so she's re-doing it. We're expanding it out, sending it to more artists in the hope that we'll get more back.
Soon we'll be introducing a new feature called "Buried Treasures". This feature will showcase music from the past that we feel should not go unnoticed and warrants some attention. As always our aim with this feature will be to featured some music that is slightly off the radar from the majority of the music buying public. Hopefully we'll introduce you to some great older music that you might not have heard.
Also this year looks to be full of concerts. The New Orleans Jazz Fest will be here before long and lots of great music inbetween than. Our concert reviews will be featured more frequently.
And last but not least we hope to start featuring album reviews. There's a lot of great albums out there that we want to bring a little attention to. Sometimes we try to make our Spotlights come out when that featured artist has a new album coming out, but we don't always make it, so some great albums are slipping through the cracks.
While we said that the above was the last we also are hoping to run a round up of some of the best music from the last year that shouldn't go unnoticed or unheard. So we have an ambitious slate ahead of us for the coming year.
We'd like to hear from anyone that actually reads this site. Please leave some comments. Tell us what you think works and what doesn't. Give us your feedback on certain artists, let us know what you think about them. At the end of each Spotlight we link to mp3's for a handful of songs from said artist, give them a try, these are some great songs.
We also have a cafepress shop where you can buy some neat things with the VtH logo on it. We plan to expand this also and offer more goodies for you to spend your hard earned money on.
And finally, yes we really mean it this time, pass this site on to a friend. If you like it tell someone else. The purpose of this site is to push great music from artists that don't get the recognition they deserve, in other words - The Best Music You've Never Heard - so let as many people know about this site as you can so more people can hear them.
Blind Boys of Alabama
I’m not much of a church-going man, but strangely I find the music of the church has a soothing effect. The call and response of the Spiritual infuses me with an almost religious feeling of joy and happiness. There is so much emotion in the musical shouting of these songs. This week’s voice to hear is a veteran gospel group of over sixty years. Also along with a voice this week we’re also going to talk about a specific song.
The group is the Blind Boys of Alabama. The group was formed in 1939 at the Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind. Two founding members, Clarence Fountain and Jimmy Carter are still performing with the band. They’ve added a few newer members in the years following their debut. The Blind Boys of Alabama worked the traditional gospel circuit for over 40 years, releasing albums that primarily found an audience with the Christian following.
In 1982 they made something of a cross over between the religious audience and the secular one with their appearance at the World’s Fair in Knoxville. The next year they appeared in a smash musical drama off-Broadway The Gospel at Colonus. During the nineties they released a couple of albums that had some cross over potential, but never quite made the reach across between the pop audience and the religious one.
All the changed in 2001 when they released Spirit of the Century. Their booking agent and producer decided to self finance the album that he knew the group could make. This album brought them to the attention of the music world outside the gospel one. It was the start of a string of Grammy Awards for them. The music on this album mixed traditional gospel songs with contemporary songs by such writers as Tom Waits, Ben Harper, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. Their version of “Amazing Grace” was sung over the tune of the traditional blues “House of the Rising Son.”
“Amazing Grace” has become one of those songs that has become more than just a standard. Everyone from gospel singers to jazz to rock to punk rockers have covered this song. This song is so ingrained into the fabric of our musical heritage, but what do we know of it?
The song was written by a former slave trader, John Newton, who reformed and became a Christian minister. Newton was captured and held prisoner on Plantain Island off the African coast for close to a year. After being rescued he converted to Christianity on the trip home. Years later he wrote the hymn after he became a minister.
They hymn crossed the Atlantic in the early 1800s and was put to the now familiar music by a singing instructor from South Carolina. The song spread throughout the South with the growing revival tents that moved from one Southern town to another.
Today the song is heard performed by everyone from Elvis Presley to KC and the Sunshine Band to Tori Amos to Ani Difranco to Dropkick Murphys to…well the list is just about endless.
The group is the Blind Boys of Alabama. The group was formed in 1939 at the Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind. Two founding members, Clarence Fountain and Jimmy Carter are still performing with the band. They’ve added a few newer members in the years following their debut. The Blind Boys of Alabama worked the traditional gospel circuit for over 40 years, releasing albums that primarily found an audience with the Christian following.
In 1982 they made something of a cross over between the religious audience and the secular one with their appearance at the World’s Fair in Knoxville. The next year they appeared in a smash musical drama off-Broadway The Gospel at Colonus. During the nineties they released a couple of albums that had some cross over potential, but never quite made the reach across between the pop audience and the religious one.
All the changed in 2001 when they released Spirit of the Century. Their booking agent and producer decided to self finance the album that he knew the group could make. This album brought them to the attention of the music world outside the gospel one. It was the start of a string of Grammy Awards for them. The music on this album mixed traditional gospel songs with contemporary songs by such writers as Tom Waits, Ben Harper, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. Their version of “Amazing Grace” was sung over the tune of the traditional blues “House of the Rising Son.”
“Amazing Grace” has become one of those songs that has become more than just a standard. Everyone from gospel singers to jazz to rock to punk rockers have covered this song. This song is so ingrained into the fabric of our musical heritage, but what do we know of it?
The song was written by a former slave trader, John Newton, who reformed and became a Christian minister. Newton was captured and held prisoner on Plantain Island off the African coast for close to a year. After being rescued he converted to Christianity on the trip home. Years later he wrote the hymn after he became a minister.
They hymn crossed the Atlantic in the early 1800s and was put to the now familiar music by a singing instructor from South Carolina. The song spread throughout the South with the growing revival tents that moved from one Southern town to another.
Today the song is heard performed by everyone from Elvis Presley to KC and the Sunshine Band to Tori Amos to Ani Difranco to Dropkick Murphys to…well the list is just about endless.
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